FIFA attacks critics trying to 'undermine' Gianni Infantino

FIFA has accused critics of a "concerted and ongoing effort" to undermine its president Gianni Infantino, amid claims that UEFA paid off an alleged mistress while he led European football's governing body.

According to The Daily Telegraph, a woman received a six-figure sum after the alleged relationship with Mr Infantino.

In a statement to Sky News, UEFA had said a "departure payment" was made to a woman as well as "the payment of fees for an MBA course at a local business school", which it said was "in line" with regulations at the time.

While not directly referencing UEFA's statement, FIFA accused Mr Infantino's critics of trying to weaken his authority and have him removed from his role without a due re-election process.

"It is increasingly evident that there is a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine FIFA and its president," the governing body said in a lengthy statement.

"Those who do not have the support of FIFA's member associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through FIFA's established democratic processes."

FIFA defended Mr Infantino over the "unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims" that have been reported, and highlighted that its president had dedicated more than 30 years of his professional life to European and world football.

"Change inevitably challenges established interests, but disagreement with that change cannot justify efforts to undermine the democratic mandate of FIFA's president or the institution he was elected to lead," FIFA said.

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After the claims about Mr Infantino's alleged mistress being paid off were published, a FIFA spokesman told Sky News on Friday that Mr Infantino "strongly denies these allegations, and they are categorically untrue".

They added: "Any insinuation of inappropriate conduct or violation of statutes or regulations is defamatory."

Mr Infantino worked at UEFA from 2000 until 2016, when he took up his current role as FIFA's president.

He is facing growing calls to quit over his controversial plan to sell off a stake in the World Cup to private investors.

The proposal triggered a row between football's governing bodies, which led to Mr Infantino eventually abandoning the proposal and apologising.

Despite this, UEFA insisted on Thursday that it was still prepared to boycott future FIFA tournaments as it had lost confidence in Mr Infantino.

Even as calls for him to step down grow, Mr Infantino is showing no signs of quitting.

The English FA sent a letter to FIFA withdrawing its support for Infantino's re-election as president, Sky News reported on Thursday - and on Friday, Norway's football federation asked him to "resign now".

Meanwhile, Mexico, Argentina, Qatar, Egypt and Morocco have thrown their support behind Mr Infantino.

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